Please introduce yourself and your book(s)
Hi! I’m Laurie Larsen, an author of over 20 books. I specialize in romance novels that feature an inspirational faith journey. Although I generally set my books on the beautiful coast of South Carolina (Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet), my current series is called Big Apple Blessings and takes place … you know it, in New York City, my favorite city in the world. The series contains three stories featuring characters making their dreams come true in the Big Apple. Â
Tell us about the characters and relationships in your stories
In Book 1 of my Big Apple Blessings series, His Secret Daughter, CEO Grant Fontaine has all the wealth and success anyone could want, but he doesn’t have what his heart truly desires — the love of a family. His pregnant wife was killed in a tragic car accident while they were vacationing in Hawaii over a decade ago, and since then, he’s remained alone, focused only on his career. Drinks with an old college friend who was visiting reminded him of a biological donation they once made as teenagers to earn money. Could that long-ago donation be the answer to his desire for a connection? A private detective’s prying gives him the answer he craves.
Budding advertising executive Alyssa Stark moves to New York, determined to make her mark on the world. After a failed marriage, she took steps to make all her dreams come true — a successful career and motherhood. Now she’s right where she wants to be: mother of her miraculous daughter Caroline, working in the big time of the advertising industry. Snagging big-shark client Grant Fontaine of Calibrite Electronics, during her first week makes her the talk of office. Things are proceeding right on course!
What could possibly go wrong?
What lessons could readers learn about real-world relationships from your novel(s)?
In the novel I mentioned, His Secret Daughter, there are a few real-world relationship issues in play. First, people fall in love even though they’ve had past relationships. Alyssa had a failed marriage but was still willing to try to find love again. You have to put yourself out there and risk to find the right person. Grant had a storybook marriage but lost his wife unexpectedly. Instead of burying himself into his career in loneliness and misery, he could’ve taken steps to heal his heart and evaluate whether he was ready to try again.
Another issue that takes front stage in this book is a very modern-world issue: Do some research on the new person in your life to find out a few pertinent facts about them. It’s so easy “these days” to Google someone to find out about parts of their life that would make someone reluctant to commit to them.
What real-life relationship experiences, observations or insights have influenced your writing?
In my chosen genre, a “happily ever after” ending is a requirement. What makes a good romance story is strong conflict that keep the couple apart before they finally resolve to that happy ending. In most real-life relationships the same is true. The majority of long-term marriages endured their share of conflict. Men and women are so different in the way they see things, approach things. There’s sure to be conflict. The challenge for the couple is determining if and how to work through the troubles so they reach their happy ending.
Are there any relationship themes or topics you want to cover in future releases?
Yes! I have a book brewing in my mind that will be very different from the romance stories I normally write. It will feature an older heroine who finds herself widowed and she’s looking back on her life and most particularly, the man she spent over three decades with. But instead of remembering all the wonderful, loving times they spent together, her mind drifts to the many instances that he didn’t treat her right, didn’t cherish her, didn’t nurture her eternally optimistic approach to life. Instead, he squashed those happy tendencies under his own tendency towards pessimism and negativity. She realizes that her nature is now free to reawaken in her new solo life and she’s excited about exploring the next phase of her life.
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